The Southern herald., 1887-10-08

claimed;
'Oh. you viii not let them take me
away-you viii nOtlN
/ assured her that they had been
driven of and that she was safe. and
her gratitude was unbounded. It vas
now ten o'clock and after, and Patton
had not yet returned. It was useless
to expect him until morning, and set
about preparing the camp for
the night As there was a
strong probability that the two
men driven off would secure reinforce
ments and return during the night,
tied the horse to the wagon, told the
woman that she could occupy the We
hicle. and prepared to spend the night
on guard She seemed to oppose this
latter arrangement doubling II the
men would return, and declaring Il
was sacrifice on my part she could
not accept. bundled her into the
wagon, however promising that l
might catch nap after one or two
o'clock, If all was quiet, and by and by
let the fire go down and took my cir.
Gle around the camp with cat-like step.
A few coyotes and wolves came about.
but nothing seemed to disturb me. and
the hours passed away until two
O'Clock. BY that time was very tired
and sleepy. dared not stretch out
for regular sleep. knowing that the
danger was not yet passed, but SAT
down on knoll about forty feet north
Of the wagon to nap little, knowing
that any noise of account would in
stantly arouse ne. 1t was perhaps q
quarter of an hour before l actually
fell asleep, and almost instantly l be.
gan to dream. | dreamed that l was
tied fast to tree on the plains, and
that q rattlesnake was crawling toward
me- The snake was coming to bite
me. and was helpless. Every move
ment Of the reptile was as vivid
as if the dream had been a
reality. and MY mind was as clear
as bell. The serpent came very
slowly, halting every two or three feet
10 rear its head and look about and
when 1t was within Ten feet its form
changed. II was yet serpent, but it
had small brown hand, and the hand
clutchcd q bulldog pistol. The pistol
was pointed full at me, aud saw that
the hammer was mp.
"Whizzr went shadow before my
face. and then saw him behind me.
The snake was no longer in front. but
creeping up in my rear, and yet l saw
him us plainly as before. He came on
slowly cautiously always little
nearer When within three feet of my
heels the pistol was raised TO the back
Of my heal, and | said to myself:
80 | am 10 be shot. 1t is large
bullet, and | wonder why he didn't
bite me? Ii | was loose l would make
a iierc eight for my life"
"ClungT 1t was the sound Of a
pistol hammer striking on the center
of cartridga-a cartridge which had
failed to explode. In the same second
was on my feet. / human figure
stood before me. l gave my heavy
rife half sweep. and the figure sank
down with stifled shrek. Then
was fully awake. and bent over the
stranger to find it was the woman
who should have been asleep
In the wagon. She was uncon-
scious, but clutched firmly in
her right hand was bulldog pistol.
wrenched it away and carried her to
the embers Of the fire, and when / had
secured blaze saw that ! had struck
her on the head and given her bad
hurt. l examined the pistol. and when
| found that the cartridge had been
,ried by the hammer, it did not take
me long to unravel the plot agains; my
life. bound The woman hand and
foot, and then kept vigilant watch
until day She recovered con-
scionsness long enough before this,
but the only aid l extended was to
loosen her hands and place q dish OF
water beside. her. She did not adj.
dress me. and had no word for her.
When day broke there was another
surprise for me- A Kickapoo Indian
| lay dead under the wagon. shot
through the heart, 1t was great
| mystery to me, but the woman was
ready TO clear it up. ] united her,
, washed the blood off her face and
head and then she gave the whole
plot away. Patton had been made q
prisoner by gang of outlaws in order
that ] might be robbed. These men
I knew Of the tin box In the wagon. The
woman had been sent into camp with
the story she told. knowing that she
, would get into the wagon. The
/, two men came 10 distract my
attention and the Kiekapoo
crept up to receive the box. The
woman couldn't find it, and l mistooE
the Indian for wolf and killed him.
Then The woman concluded that had
the money on ME, and while mapped
she crept up to shoot me and secure
1t. She told the particulars as coolly
as | relate them to you, and when she
had finished she asked what was
/ going to do about it. Patton had by
, that time returned, having raised such
row that his captors feared to de-
. tain him longer, and he answered the
question by picking up rope and
starting for the nearest tree.
This broke the woman down. and
she begged and pleaded so abiectly
/ that we left her free to go where she
would when we drove on. To have
taken her to Ockmulgee. Kickapoo, On
onU nthnp fnWn no rrr0,,lI